This Estate Shiraz from the stellar 2021 vintage sets a high bar for richness and complexity.
Bright and expressive spice and savoury notes swirl deliciously through a deeply flavoured dark plum and berry fruits palate supported by supple, chewy tannins. Enjoyment now or cellaring out to 2033/2036 are both very satisfying options.
Alister Purbrick | 4th Generation | Winemaker

VINTAGE 2021
La Nina had a major influence on the 2020/21 growing season.
Tahbilk experienced good rainfall post 2020 vintage, and regular rainfall through the year. Notwithstanding the challenges this presented for the vineyard team, who worked diligently to get their sprays on as required, the frequent rain days ensured the vineyards looked healthy and vibrant, with no disease or growth issues.
The effects of La Nina contributed to a cool to warm, but not hot summer, which meant a slow and steady ripening. By mid-March we’d picked all of the whites with all very promising – Marsanne in particular. We’d also picked some reds by mid-March, mostly for Rosé, however daily light showers that followed had us all nervously waiting for the rain to stop so we could start picking the reds in earnest.
The rain did stop and, after a lull in ripening, the reds jumped in sugar and the Winery staff were flat out keeping up with the picking.
For a vintage that looked touch and go quite a few times, 2021 is rated a very good, to potentially stellar vintage.

Don't Just Take Our Word For It ...

"This, the currently (and widely) available vintage of Tahbilk’s Shiraz is a wonderful wine: dark purple in the glass, bursting with bold brambly fruit, wrapped in savoury, sooty tannins.
The Tahbilk 1860 Vines Shiraz, produced in tiny quantities from a precious patch of pre-phylloxera plants, is a national treasure of a wine with extraordinary, understated complexity and deep cellarability (as you’d hope for a something that costs $360 a bottle). But there is something undeniably wonderful about the fact that this far more affordable Estate Shiraz, produced in far greater quantity, also ages superbly: the three oldest wines in the tasting [Editor: Purbrick Family Centennial], the 1981, 1971 and 1968, were all still great drinks. (OK, the ’68 was fading a little – but I couldn’t help loving it as it was made the year I was born.)”
Max Allen | Financial Review | January 2025

"Plum and toffee apple red. Some youthful eucalyptus leafiness with boysenberry and sweet-ish oak. Hint of savoury baking spice over coffee grounds and wine gums. Supple flow, medium to full with dusty, rustic tannins under spice and pointed attack to finish. A little minty through the close but the plushness gives good oomph. Tasty stuff."
vinonotebook.com | October 2024

"Classic Red ...
A new vintage of one of the most reliable reds around – from Victoria’s oldest family-owned winery with a pedigree dating back to 1860. This is a complex and delicious Shiraz released at three years of age that can either be enjoyed now or be cellared for a few years.
It is a lovely mellow wine with a nifty combination of complexity, tannin structure, flavour, and spice notes. A very versatile food wine, too, so it would be well worth having a couple of bottles on hand for when wine-loving friends drop by."
Winsor Dobbin | ciaomagazine.com.au | August 2024

"Shiraz shines in 2021 with a clean, pure, natural fruit drive that is quite stunning – and delicious.
Brings great varietal definition to the glass in heady scents of violet florals, earth, ripe black fruits, plum, aniseed and sweet spices. A fine line of tannin guides the palate, finishing with style and grace."
Jeni Port | www.winecompanion.com.au | August 2024